How to Service Your Chris King Bottom Bracket Bearings

In this video we show you how to service your Chris King bottom bracket bearings without a Chris King grease injector tool.
We're using Chris King's new Silver Grease which is designed specifically for parts that spin and need to have low friction (like hubs and bottom brackets). You can get your own grease here:
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If your bottom bracket has a damaged seal or snap ring, get new ones here:
24mm bottom brackets:
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30mm bottom brackets:
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A note on the degreaser: Chris King recommends not using a citrus-based degreaser because citric acid can damage anodizing.
Thanks for watching, and let us know if you have any questions!

[@njb7911]

Excellent video- super helpful. To anyone watching this in 2024, watch this but also look at the updated videos on the Chris King channel, especially how they remove the snap ring, it's slightly different from how they show it here and the way they show it is much easier!

[@doltcart]

Thank you for posting this. The instructions on the CK website aren't very thorough. Helps to have a visual reference.

[@dudeonbike800]

Kinda cool seeing the same air tool being used on the same color frame as mine!

[@SP-wj8wh]

Thank you for this video, very clear instructions

[@bluewaterdoggy]

Hi. So the inter race on my CK bb came out along with the fit kit exposing all my ball bearings. Is my bearing broken?

[@shameelariff2556]

Many thanks for this great video. It is really helpful 👍❤️

[@iamcalledtox]

CK seems to have the same instructions for all of their bearings. Following your video of CK headset maintenance, would WD-40 be a suitable solvent for the old BB grease, or would denatured alcohol be a much better solution? Similarly, would DNA be a suitable instead of WD-40 for cleaning out the headset?

[@denbeigh]

wd40 tends to gum up when old, it is a good cleaner but you wouldnt be able to fully remove it from the bearings. alcohol evaporates..... both eat rubber seals.

[@Liljoozy]

Is this method in any way inferior to other video methods I have seen on KZbin that use a grease gun?

[@josephphillips865]

I think both techniques have their place. My theory is injecting fresh grease does not always get all of the crud out so after many, many miles it is not a bad idea to remove the seals to fully clean and inspect. The grease injector is great though when you need to quickly switch between grease types or if you think water may have made it's way into the bearings after riding through a deep pool of water.

[@josephphillips865]

On second thought after trying this method I would not say it is superior to the grease injection but just different. It is a decent method if you don't want to buy the tools or if you have a special grease in a syringe and not in a grease gun. One downside is it is possible to damage the seals although they are said to be reusable. Also this method cannot fully clean the bearing as you would need to pull the bearing from the shell to clean out both sides. Although I just tried this method it still seems like there is a small piece of grit stuck somewhere and I don't have a tool to remove the bearing to clean further without damaging it.

[@ilyakonovalov3119]

When cranking the crankset, is there any noise in the bearings with this grease?

[@GokkunGuru]

Can I use isopropyl alcohol instead?

[@AVTBike]

You can use Isopropyl no problem. The higher the % the better.

[@GokkunGuru]

@@AVTBike so basic service is using IPA 99% to clean the spindle, the hub innards and where the 2 rings meet. Then relube with the Drive Lube 2.0? We never have to take the hub apart and regrease bearings, or take it to a bike shop to get that done instead cuz you’ll need special tools. Etc

[@AVTBike]

@@GokkunGuru The bearing service will be the same process. You only need to remove the internals when they are heavily worn or damaged. Most services can be done with limited tools.

[@OnkelHotte-h7u]

I just wonder why there is a special tool from Chris King to replace the old grease (and dirt) by pressing it of the bearings with a grease gun!?

[@cya442]

CK stopped selling this tool and now recommends cleaning and regressing by hand.

[@bobwilliamson5574]

I would have cleaned bike first.

[@johnsasser3214]

Dude, clean the bike first. I just saw you put dirt into the bearing lol.

[@djlesinski7978]

Awesome thank you.

[@ChristophHerrmann]

I think the sealing isn't orientated the right way. Chris King says: When reinstalling the seal, be sure that the seal is curved upwards in the middle. Seat the seal with your finger. If the seal bunches up, the outside edge is not fully seated into the seal groove.

[@cya442]

I have read that too and then in their videos they tell you to reinstall the seal exactly how it was removed. Nuts!

[@dantegarcia878]

i just don't get it. if the sealing works as it was intended, why did it accumulate dirt? why should i replace the grease if it is good and designed to last long? why would i bother doing all that, not to mention buying new grease, degreaser, etc if i can simply buy a new one and replace it? new set cost much? then back to the first question.

[@AVTBike]

Any high quality BB will need to be serviced.. you can either fit a cheap BB with low quality bearings and seals, use it and throw it away each year (which is not very sustainable), or buy higher quality one with much better bearings, service it regularly and it will last a very long time. Take your pick.

[@dantegarcia878]

@@AVTBike yeah almost all sellers will say that. if that's the case we should have never invented sealed. I'd rather use campy loose bearings of old!😁